Speaking from Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, President Donald Trump issued a firm warning to foreign leaders: his priority is defending the United States of America, and he will do so using “overwhelming strength” and “devastating force” if necessary.
“In recent years, far too many American presidents have been afflicted with the notion that it’s our job to look into the souls of foreign leaders and use U.S. policy to dispense justice for their sins,” Trump said during the U.S.-Saudi investment forum in Riyadh. “They loved using our very powerful military. And now it’s really the most powerful it’s ever been … we’re getting the greatest missiles, the greatest weapons.”
Trump emphasized that the United States believes in peace through strength, arguing that “bad things could happen” if the United States was not powerful and in a position to defend itself.
“It is God’s job to sit in judgment, my job to defend America, and to promote the fundamental interests of stability, prosperity, and peace,” he said Tuesday. “That’s what I really want to do.”
Trump also announced plans to lift sanctions on Syria, sharing that he made the decision after he discussed the matter with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“Syria, they’ve had their share of travesty, war, killing in many years,” he said. “That’s why my administration has already taken the first steps toward restoring normal relations between the United States and Syria for the first time in more than a decade.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Syria’s foreign minister in Turkey this week, Trump noted, sharing: “The sanctions were brutal and crippling and served as an important — really an important function — nevertheless, at the time. But now it’s their time to shine.”
He added: “So I say, ‘Good luck, Syria.’ Show us something very special.”
🚨 @POTUS: “After discussing the situation in Syria with the Crown Prince and also with President Erdogan of Turkey… among others in the Middle East, I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria, in order to give them a chance at greatness.” pic.twitter.com/JG3gx3Nn6D
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 13, 2025
During his remarks, the president outlined his vision for the future of the Middle East and how he seeks to create a more stable region and peaceful world. He contrasted the path taken by Gulf nations to the path taken by the Iranian regime, offering Iran a different path to a brighter future.
“I am here today not merely to condemn the past choices of Iran’s leaders, but to offer them a new and a better path toward a much more hopeful future,” Trump argued, adding, “As I have shown repeatedly, I am willing to end past conflicts and forge new partnerships for a better and more stable world, even if our differences may be profound.”
The president also praised some Middle Eastern leaders and touted “the transformation that has occurred under the leadership of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed” in Saudi Arabia, calling it “truly extraordinary.”
According to the White House, Trump secured a $600 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia for investments in the United States, including a defense partnership worth about $142 billion.
“If the responsible nations of this region seize this moment, put aside your differences and focus on the interests that unite you,” the president said, “then all of humanity will soon be amazed at what they will see right here in the geographic center of the world … and the spiritual heart of its greatest faiths.”
